This meeting included a discussion about proposed changes to the Dartmouth Park area and the adoption of a range of policies to improve transport, waste and library services in Camden. It also included the consideration of a petition calling for an extension to the deadline of a consultation into traffic management plans in the Dartmouth Park area.

Proposed changes to the Dartmouth Park area

Camden Council received a petition on 16 August 2024 calling for changes to be made to the consultation into the proposed 'Healthy Neighbourhood' scheme in the Dartmouth Park area.

The petition, which was signed by 2308 people including 595 Camden residents, stated that:

“The timing and poor quality of the proposals suggest this is in name only. We’re asking for an extension, explanation of the purpose and objectives and real consultation.”

The petitioners requested the following changes be made:

• An extension to the consultation period for the project.
• An explanation of the purpose and objectives of the project.
• 'Real consultation' on the project.

The Dartmouth Park Area Healthy Neighbourhood scheme, which is a joint project with the London Borough of Islington, is planned to improve the look and feel of the area, reduce pollution, and encourage healthier, more sustainable modes of transport, like walking and cycling.

The petition states that:

“Details of this highly complex scheme was published by Camden and Islington Council on 8 July and shockingly the deadline for comments was 18 August just six weeks during the school holidays.”

However the report pack states that while the deadline for responses was indeed 18 August 2024, two in-person meetings were organised to take place before the start of the school holidays - one on 23 July 2024 and one on 24 July 2024, and an online meeting took place on 17 July 2024.

The project has been under consideration by the Council for some years, with an early phase of engagement beginning in September 2023. An initial phase of engagement has been completed, with a further phase of co-design taking place in July 2024, and a final phase of public consultation yet to take place.

The report pack states that:

“Officers are not proposing to extend the consultation as the second phase of engagement (co- design) was not a consultation but the second phase of three phases of engagement.”

Because the proposals are in such an early stage of development and a full public consultation is yet to take place, the report recommends that the committee determines that:

“no further action is necessary in relation to the petition received”

Proposed Transport Strategy Delivery Plan

The committee were asked to consider adopting a new Transport Strategy Delivery Plan for 2025-2028, as well as approving:

• A funding bid to be made to Transport for London (TfL)
• An allocation of a total of £22m of Camden capital funding to deliver the plan.

This plan continues to deliver on the Council's Camden Transport Strategy 2019-2041 which commits to a range of targets that include:

• Reducing car dependency by increasing walking and cycling
• Improving road safety to reduce the number of people killed and seriously injured on Camden's roads.
• Improving public transport
• Creating radically less polluted places

The report pack says:

Although significant challenges remain, we have made extensive progress in delivering safer, healthier streets and travel in Camden since the Camden Transport Strategy (CTS) was adopted in 2019.

Camden's transport strategy is delivered through the three-year Delivery Plans that underpin the funding bids made to TfL's “Local Implementation Plan” (LIP). The new plan proposes a number of schemes and programmes, including:

• Completing a range of Holborn Liveable Neighbourhood¹ “STARter” schemes and consulting on the main project;
• Potential to extend the currently-proposed trial Camden High Street pedestrianisation project further north, over the canal bridge to the junction of Castlehaven Road/Hawley Road;
• Multiple projects to deliver Camden's Walking & Accessibility Plan including zebra/signalised crossings, continuous pavements², the new “accessible junctions” initiatives, traffic-reduction measures, and new pedestrian routes including the “Wellbeing Walk” south of the Euston Road;
• A range of new and upgraded Cycle routes, which would add around 18km of new segregated cycle tracks, including a major east-west “Cross Camden Cycleway” . This would run across the central part of the Borough through many popular locations;
• Completing the transformation of the Better, Safer Kilburn High Road project, in partnership with Brent Council and Westminster Council. This project is improving road safety, upgrading the look and feel of the area and enabling walking and cycling;
• Rolling out neighbourhood-based Safe & Healthy Streets projects, including the emerging scheme in the Dartmouth Park area and schemes in the West Hampstead and Kingsgate Road areas. Safe & Healthy Streets projects include a wide range of features like preventing vehicles using residential streets as short cuts, improving the look and feel of an area and new plants and trees;
• A range of HS2 Road Safety Fund projects in the Regent’s Park Safe & Healthy Streets area, including innovative engagement work with young people;
• Multiple projects in Camden’s part of the Central Activities Zone³ (south of the Euston Road), including projects to reduce through-traffic across the area, improving the look at feel of the streets and reviewing Controlled Parking Zones⁴;
• Road safety improvements, especially for pedestrians, at multiple priority junctions across the Borough;
• Improvements to road safety around schools, making it safer and easier to walk and cycle. Alongside promoting the TfL Travel for Life programme Camden will continue to deliver Healthy School Streets with the vast majority of feasible schemes aiming to be delivered by 2026. Healthy School Streets prevent motor vehicles entering streets in the vicinity of schools at pick-up and drop-off times making it safer for children, parents, carers and staff to travel to and from school. Camden will also continue to deliver projects for schools on main roads including widened pavements and planting. Camden will also start a new programme of Healthy Hospital Streets which will deliver changes similar to Healthy School Streets;
• Adding hundreds more Electric Vehicle Charge Points and secure cycle hangars so people are able to store their bikes outside – freeing up much needed indoor space or supporting people without enough space to own and use a bike;
• More urban planting (trees, low-level planting, Sustainable Urban Drainage systems⁵, parklets etc) as part of the Healthy Streets programmes. Sustainable Urban Drainage systems help to store rainwater and reduce local flooding while Parklets are small areas with planting, seating and so on created from a car parking space in the road;
• Rolling out complementary measures across the borough. This includes projects which support Camden's wider aims such as Green Micro-Mobility Hubs⁶ (spaces where you can find a variety of different healthy travel options all in one place like e-scooters, cycle hire and car clubs), and cycle training initiatives;
• A package of parking management programmes including reviewing CPZ hours of control and exploring the potential for a Workplace Parking Levy⁷ (where employers are charged for the number of parking places they have).
• Implementing “short-term” measures and actions in Camden's Freight & Servicing Action Plan;
• A range of specific projects for Camden's “Spotlight” areas for 2025-2028 (buses, car clubs and motorcycle safety).

To deliver these schemes the report pack asks that Camden allocates:

a total £22m of Council Capital to help fund the 3-year programme.

The report pack notes that the plan was developed using feedback from the public and community groups.

Proposed Library Service Update

The Committee were asked to note an update on the work being undertaken to improve the Library Service in Camden.

The report pack says that:

Camden Libraries are reaching more people and had the second highest adult engagement rate in England in the year 2023/24.

It goes on to say:

The libraries are developing as neighbourhood spaces through changes to the buildings, improved digital offer, supporting digital inclusion and working with communities, community partners and other stakeholders to develop resident focused spaces, developing reading skills in children, young people and adults to improve wellbeing, and employability.

As part of this programme, a number of investments are being made to libraries, including:

• A £3.7m decarbonisation project at Swiss Cottage Library which was completed in 2021/22.
• A £1.7m decarbonisation project at Highgate Library due to complete in November 2024.
• Decarbonisation works due to begin at West Hampstead Library in November 2024.
• A £1.7m project to update the children's library at Swiss Cottage funded by an £80k bequest and £180k from the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL)⁸.
• A £1.7m project, including £499k from the Library Improvement Fund (Arts Council England) to upgrade Kilburn Library, beginning in 2025.
• A £206k project (£92k CIL and £114k Section 106⁹ money) to refurbish Holborn Library in January and February 2025.

Proposed Joint Waste Strategy

The Committee were asked to note a new draft of the North London Joint Waste Strategy (the Strategy). The Strategy, which runs from 2025 to 2040, has been developed by the North London Waste Authority (NLWA) in collaboration with seven London boroughs including Camden.

The report pack says:

The draft North London Joint Waste Strategy (the Strategy) is a statutory requirement and is a joint strategy between Barnet Council, Camden Council, Enfield Council, Hackney Council, Haringey Council, Islington Council, the North London Waste Authority (NLWA) and Waltham Forest Council.

It goes on to say:

The Strategy will guide our work for the next fifteen years and through the aims and activities as set out in the document, will help north London move towards a low waste, sustainable future.

The Strategy is focused on:

“managing north Londoners’ waste according to the waste hierarchy, prioritising waste reduction then maximising reuse, repair, recycling (and the most climate-friendly means of disposal possible) where reduction is not feasible. This includes providing environmentally- friendly, best-value, resident-focused services and policies that meet the challenges of the Climate Emergency.”

The Strategy has four priorities:

Priority 1: Supporting the reduction in waste by promoting prevention, repair and reuse

It will look to achieve this by:

• Campaigning for Government to:
  • Target businesses to ensure they are responsible for the costs of the waste they produce
  • Support the repair and reuse sector
• Expanding on waste prevention, reuse and repair opportunities already being delivered by the seven boroughs.
• Engaging and informing residents of the benefits of minimising waste and reusing or repairing items. This will include behaviour change campaigns.
• Expanding on the schools engagement programme, particularly to promote waste prevention to the next generation.
• Strengthening partnerships and collaborative working across all partners, including public sector authorities, environmental groups, campaigners, grassroots organisations and residents.

The Strategy will set targets to:

• Reduce avoidable food waste by 50%.
• Reduce recyclable material in residual waste by 50%.
• Double the % of material reused at Reuse and Recycling Centres.

It will also explore:

• Opportunities to collect and compost more food waste, including from flats.
• Promoting repair skills development and sharing and hiring opportunities.
• Increasing awareness of the journey of waste through educational visits to waste management sites.

Priority 2: Improving and maximising recycling

It will look to achieve this by:

• Lobbying government to:
  • Encourage use of recycled materials.
  • Provide local authorities with more local powers, resources and appropriate targets.
• Maintaining clear, effective and efficient collection methods to increase recycling participation and improve capture rate.
• Collecting food waste from every household, alongside a programme of communications and engagement to increase participation.
• Expanding the range of materials collected at the kerbside and investigating options for pre-sorting of residual waste.
• Securing a new recycling contract which will deliver social value as well as environmental benefits.
• Building a new local facility to manage the waste produced in north London
• Promoting UK-based recyclers.

The Strategy will set targets to:

• Recycle 50% of household waste by 2030.
• Ensure 100% of north London’s recycling is processed within the UK.

It will also explore:

• Expanding the range of materials accepted as part of the dry mixed recycling service.
• Adding new materials to recycling collections at the kerbside.
• Investigating any improvements in artificial intelligence and robotics to improve the recycling process.
• Maintaining a watching brief on emerging sorting technologies.

Priority 3: Reducing the environmental impact of disposal, where there is no option to

prevent or reuse waste It will look to achieve this by:

• Lobbying Government to:
  • Reduce plastic and other fossil based content in the waste stream.
  • Ensure product designers and manufacturers are responsible for the emissions of their products.
• Building a new energy recovery facility to treat and dispose of north London’s waste.
• Using north London’s waste as a resource for society by generating low carbon energy and heat from the new facilities.
• Investigating the use of carbon capture and storage technologies.
• Continuing to decarbonise the vehicles used for collection, transfer and treatment of waste.

The Strategy will set a target for:

• Zero landfill by 2040.

It will also explore:

• Improving facilities and infrastructure to manage all of north London’s waste.
• Actively monitoring new technologies for sorting and treating waste.
• Producing new analysis examining the carbon impact of waste.
• Using alternative fuels such as electric or hydrogen.

Priority 4: Delivering collaborative, community-focused services which provide value for

money and maximise social value It will look to achieve this by:

• Campaigning for:
  • Adequate funding from government for waste services and policy.
  • A collaborative approach with local authorities.
• Ensuring that residents have access to the services they need to reduce waste and recycle effectively.
• Working collaboratively with partners to deliver the best possible service.
• Maximising all opportunities for social value benefits from waste and resource management.
• Providing good quality green jobs and training in the area.
• Committing to sustainable procurement policies.
• Developing and implementing best practice asset management to maximise the life of our assets.

This includes:

• Regularly assessing social value outcomes and identifying areas of improvement.
• Paying all staff the London Living Wage.
• Providing apprenticeship and training opportunities.
• Adopting sustainable procurement policies to encourage waste reduction and support the circular economy.

The report pack states that NLWA is:

facilitating a public consultation on the Strategy, seeking views from residents, business and local communities to ensure a fully rounded and robust final Strategy is developed which draws on a wide range of views and expertise.

The consultation began on 28 October 2024 and is due to run for 12 weeks, closing on 19 January 2025.

Work Programme and Action Tracker

The committee were asked to:

• Note and identify any issues or areas for consideration within the proposed work programme for 2024/25.
• Note the actions taken arising from previous meetings.

The report pack states that:

“The work programme should be informed by the corporate priorities of the Council, the priorities of the relevant portfolio holders, and issues raised by our communities.”